Percy Jackson: Birth of Helphius
Percy Jackson is your normal 27 year old. That is, if you can call the greatest hero of the 21st century normal. He is the celebrity of the twilight world inhabitted by gods, warriors, and monsters, but Percy wants to be away from all of it. So he's finally happy when he and Annabeth settle down in the Mortal world. But trouble is brewing. A mighty immortal rises, birthed from the blood of the children of the Big Three. Now Percy and the rest of the children of the Big Three are in trouble, and things aren't helped by the fact that the Olympians have exiled them from both camps. This time they have no army, no allies... only each other. Ok, so I'm back! I'd been drowning in Exams so far, but now, back to the tale!!! A story by yours truly, Giantgnat (talk) 14:39, December 8, 2012 (UTC) The Beginning Josh shivered. The son of Phobos stood in the desolate graveyard. The three vials sat on the tomb infront of him. The tomb had no significance, but the graveyard certainly did. The first place in America where the Romans and Greeks had clashed. A dark place for a dark deed. Even more dark were the three vials. Josh had been one of the more important demigods under Kronos. Two others had enjoyed the benefits of the position, Jonathan Beznev and Ethan Nakamura. Kronos had trusted them greatly; enough to provide them with the vials. The lord of time had, in the course of the war, collected the blood of four demigods. A few drops of blood belonging to Percy Jackson stuck on the earth where he, Artemis and the daughter of Athena had battled Atlas. Some blood that had been stuck on an arrow that had pierced Thalia Grace when she and the Hunters of Artemis had battled a few dracanea. Some blood that had escaped Nico di Angelo when he had had cut himself during the manticore attack. A shirt soaked in blood belonging to Jason Grace when he had fought a sea serpent. And here was the blood. One vial containing Percy's, one with Nico's, and one with Jason's and Thalia's. There were others, of course. Hazel Levesque for one. But only the blood of three offsprings of the three main gods was needed to bring in motion the last plan of Lord Kronos. Josh flicked his tongue over his lips. Percy Jackson had made the Olympians swear that they would respect the other gods. But he himself had disrespected Phobos! He had humiliated him when he had tried to embaress his half sister Clarrise and bring down Ares' wrath on her. It was what Phobos did, inspire fear. But Jackson had intervened, and even now Phobos was ridiculed because of it. He felt the black power of his father course through him. Beware Perseus Jackson, he thought, Helphius rises. He spoke the words given to him Kronos all those years back, and the vials exploded into red mist, that transformed into a massive form. Josh spoke the words of command taught to him, but the creature did not listen. Two blades appeared in its hands. Too late, Josh realized that Kronos had decieved him. Helphius wouldn't listen to him; it would destroy him. In vain, he used the powers of fear at his disposal, but the being was not hindered. The last thing he saw, were the hollow eye sockets of Helphius consuming him. Knock-Knock Percy stifled a yawn as he got up from the couch, head throbbing. He looked around through eyes bleary with sleep. The small apartment was painted blue, a color he had decided. He looked at the pictures on the walls, and the shelves stacked with books. Those, he had definitely nothing to do with. He looked at the kitchen door as something inside rustled. His hair stood up on end. Who was in the kitchen...? He drew Riptide, and walked over. He jumped inside, brandishing Anaklusmos, and stopped, a look of horror on his face. It was Annabeth. Oh Gods no... "How many times have I told you not to do that!" He capped the bronze blade sheepishly, not looking at Annabeth, who looked like a blonde version of hell stuffed in a grey parka. "You are such a seaweed brain, you know that?" "You're telling me the hundredth time." "Percy...!" "Um... sorry?" Her expression softened. She stepped close to him, and her lips met his. "You know I can't stay mad at you." she said, her lips still brushing his. He pulled her into a drawn out kiss. At last, the momment was broken by a voice. "I really want to puke." They stepped back hurriedly. Percy looked at the speaker. A young girl, around ten. Her brown hair were tied in a braid and she had soft-blue eyes, like Percy's mother's. She wore a bright blue sweater. "Is there no privacy, Pam?" complained Percy. She scowled. "You are supposed to be... what was it?.... Baby-sitting me. Like I can't take care of myself." she grumbled. Annabeth watched both of them look at eachother with similiar scowls, and snorted with laughter. Both turned their scowls at her. "What's so funny?" they said in unision, before glaring at eachother again. "Oh, for heavens sake you two! You're supposed to be siblings." she blurted out. "Isn't this what siblings do?" Asked Pam. She had a point. Percy spoke up. "Why don't you go to your room Pam." She didn't move. "I said, why don't you go to your room Pam?" This time, she made her way to the bedroom, recognizing his expression. "That wasn't very nice." "I'm not nice." "That can be disputed." Again she moved close to him. He smelled her perfume, which smelled like jasmine. Knock-Knock. Percy looked at the door irritatedly. The knock came again. "Who is it?" He called. "Pizza!" He frowned at Annabeth. "You order Pizza?" "No..." "Hey, in case you're busy smooching, there's someone on the door!" came Pan's muffled voice. Percy went to the door, and opened it. He felt something hammer him in the chest, and flew back to crash into the sofa. Vaguely, he heard Annabeth scream his name. But he'd been trained at Camp Halfblood. He heard Chiron's voice. When thrown back, try to roll away as soon as you hit the ground. Most opponents will try to finish you off when you're on down. He did so now, and he felt the floor shudder where he'd been mere momments ago. He got on his feet, drawing Riptide. He raised the sword, and stopped a sword strike in its tracks. With their blades locked, Percy got a good look at his opponent. Tall, black skined. It wore a tattered loincloth and it had the head of a horse, with fiery eyes. The monster had strength. It pushed Percy, and he stumbled back. It tried to stab him, but roared in pain, as a bronze dagger appeared in it's ribcage. Annabeth retrieved it with a squelch. The monster wasn't bright though. It swung it's sword at her and howled again as Percy slashed riptide across it's belly. Annabeth rammed her dagger ino it's throat, and it fell apart into dust. Percy returned riptide to pen form. "I'm pretty rusty." "You were fine, seaweed brain." Pam walked down, and her eyes widened as she saw the dust on the floor. "It was one of the monsters right?" The Percy glanced at Annabeth. "You don't have to lie to me, Percy." said Pam. "I heard quite a lot. Don't worry, I'm not freaked out or anything." "Well, you are a Jackson. Atleast half Jackson, anyways. But I don't think Paul will be pretty pumped if he knew I just had a monster attack with you around." "I won't tell. Would you?" Percy shrugged in defeat. "Fine. You win." "Hungry, Pam?" said Annabeth, dusting off the monster remains. "Yeah." she said. "Lets order Pizza." Thrown from Rome Jason breathed in the sweet smell of roses, and sighed contentedly. New Rome was his favourite place in the whole world, even better than Camp Halfblood. Jason looked around, looking at a faun and a kid arguing over a few Denarii. Lately, the fauns had decided to earn denarii- by defeating their owners in rock-papers-scissors. The gardens glowed green, and the campers hung around, chatting. He smiled at the familiar sight. "Wow, you look happy." said a soft voice behind him. He turned around to see his girlfriend smile at him. Piper had grown even more beautiful with time. She'd given up trying to look as ratty as possible, and wore the standard purple teeshirt. Her hair were long and flew down to her waist. Her dagger, Katoptris, was strapped to her leg. She and Jason lived in New Rome during winter, Camp Halfblood in summer. It was a split life, but she loved it. Don the faun hurried over to them. "Any spare denarii, mates?" he said in a really bad British accent. "Duel in the form of noble art of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Fair play, then, eh?" "No thanks, noble Sir Don." said Jason, and Piper stifled a laugh. "Fair enough, fellow sir." he trotted off behind another camper. "So where were we?" asked Jason. "Um... You look happy?" "Well, what isn't there to look happy about? I'm in the most beautiful place in the world, with the most beautiful girl in the world at my side. How do I be sad?" She squinted at him suspiciously. "This is not the Jason I know." He laughed. "You're right. Your mum visited me." "In camp?!" "No, in my dreams. She... er, you know. Gave me tips and stuff..." "Oh no..." she looked mortified. "What did she say?" Thankfully, he avoided the answer when another camper hurried upto him. He recognized the huge frame, cutish face, and general clumsiness all too well. "Hey Frank. How you doing?" "Yeah, hi. Um, hi." he said nodding at Piper awkwardly. "So... you wanted to talk to me...?" His head snapped back to Jason, blushing. "Well, Reyna wanted to talk to you." His jaw hardened. "Why? She's done enough." Frank shot a pleading glance at Piper. "Look Jason. Go talk to her." She said. "What? Why? You know what she did! She set you up! The Drakon in the arena might have killed you!" "I know Jason. But look at her point of view. Me and you, growing closer to each other one so close to her when she really, really likes you... that isn't easy to bear. Trust me." She could still feel Aphrodite laughing her head off. She'd be loving this. "Fine." he stormed off behind Frank. When he saw Reyna, his anger melted away. She sagged in her seat, her face grey, eyes bloodshot. "What happened to you?" he hurried over to her. "The Drakon's venom... infected me when I was planting it below the Arena. Even... even baby drakons are... quite poisonous." "Wait... Frank, call a Healer!" "No, Frank Zhang. There... is no healing. It is fatal. I will soon die. It is good... I deserve it." "No Reyna. Frank, go call the healer. Don't listen to her!" Frank nodded, turning into an eagle and flying off. "Jason Grace... choose your fellow Praetor... carefully. Octavius must... not gain Praetorship. Be wise. I'm... sorry..." "Reyna? Reyna!!" The Healers arrived, but it was too late. She was dead. As the fire of her shrowd rose into the night sky, the ghost Haerthus spoke ceremonial words. "And Reyna Claire, daughter of the War Godess, former Praetor of New Rome, now rests with the gods. May Pluto give her an honorable and just trial, and may her memory etch itself on the sacred earth of Rome." Suddenly, the clouds darkened further, till it was pitch black. The shrowd burnt completely all at once, and the earth around it smoldered. Candles flickered out. Jason looked above. He could feel a descending presence... All of a sudden a thunder bolt fell onto the earth, throwing rubble everywhere, even through the Lares. Every one else either panicked or sat shell-shocked. Or thunder-shocked. Jason walked near the smoke and knelt down. As it cleared, everyone else gasped and followed him, for there stood Jupiter, Lord of the Sky. He wore a white suit, and his hair flew freely in the wind. His beard reached his chest. His eyes sparked with thunder. In his hand, he held a spear that cackled with electricity. "Rise, Romans." They rose. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, leave the soil of rome." Jason couldn't believe his ears. "Father...? What...?" "LEAVE THE SOIL OF ROME!!!! Your blood has been taken, and you and the other children of me and my brothers are hereby exiled from Rome! Leave now!" He backed up, shaking. "Why should he do that?" someone said. Jason looked back to see Piper, defiantly looking at the god. "Piper, no..." he murmered, because he couldn't force his voice out. Jupiter glared at her. "Silence, girl; know your place. He shall not walk Rome again, and I suggest that you all forget him." With a blaze of light he wasn't there anymore. Jason looked at the sky in misery. His life was ruined. The Pluto Gang Hazel could have done without Jason's Iris message. Iris Messages had been fairly new to the Romans. They had been one of the things they'd learnt from their greek counterparts. They were pretty common nowadays, though Hazel still didn't like the idea of someone messaging you in the shower. But there were no showers here. Only an old, dusty highway. She had been escorting two halfbloods on their first missions. Javed Hassan, and his brother Ali Hassan were her half siblings, being the children of Pluto like her. She couldn't make anything out of them. Both were quiet, and rarely spoke. They helped her make camp, and fight, without comment. She felt annoyed with them sometimes. When she was far away, they'd talk to each other in low voices. Neither displayed any of Pluto's powers, death as with Nico di Angelo or riches as in her. They fought well. That was it. Then she'd had Jason's Iris Message. He'd been pale like a ghost (she knew with experience), and his eyes had been red and puffy. He'd told her everything from top to bottom, and she hadn't been able to comfort him one ounce. Apparently, he was outside Camp now, with a child of Neptune, also exiled. He'd asked for a rendezvous, and she'd agreed. The quest was over, anyways. If Jason was right, she was exiled too, and so were her mute half brothers. When she'd told them, they'd just shrugged. Now she was near the Empire State building. It had been pretty far away, but then she'd had Arion, her super-fast horse. Now Arion was away to find and bring in Jason and the other kid. She looked around her. There was a pretty bad traffic jam. Even now, she found it hard to stoumach the 21st century at times, especially when she saw the small ways in which the world had totally changed. The Empire State bulding wasn't small. It was so big, her head swam when she tried to see the top. When she said that aloud, Javed had said, "You should see the Burj-ul-Arab in Saudi-Arabia." There was a note of sadness in his voice. "Is it bigger?" He and his brother laughed mutedly. "Nearly twice as large." She'd been about to say good joke, when she noticed a few old men walking to her. The brothers followed her gaze and fingered their swords. Not good. "Ah, hello Hazel Levesque." They spoke in creepy unision. "And gang. Children, prepare to meet your father..." They grinned, showing really, really sharp teeth, and their glasses literally started smoldering. Hazel drew her sword and the boys followed. The people around her gasped, and she wondered what they saw. And then the freaky old-timers were onto them. Rebel Alliance By the time Jason and Colin showed up, the children of Pluto were in deep trouble. Colin's head was spinning when he stepped off the horse, so he hadn't been of much help in the battle. Jason stormed off into the battle; literally surrounded by thunder and vaporous clouds, with his sword Procellam crackling. The dark woman with the two boys grinned as she saw him, and they went on work at the monsters, who were now smiling less, and wailing more. After a few minutes, they were completely vanquished. The woman, who Colin reconized now as Hazel daughter of Pluto, embraced Jason, like a fussy older sister, and said, "I'm so sorry, Jason." He smiled slightly, surprising Colin. He hadn't thought Jason was capable of such a feat. "Its not your fault." He turned his attention to Colin. "Hazel, this is Colin, son of Neptune. Colin, this is my friend Hazel." Hazel smiled at him, and he forced a smile back. "Why did you not fight?" Colin was surprised to here the boy speak. He'd forgotten he was there. It had been Ali, the fairer one, who had spoken. "I was dizzy." He muttered. Ali gazed at him evenly, before looking away. "Er." said Jason, to break the silence, "We should get going. The mortal police would be here soon." They nodded, and used Arion to travel away, in two turns. They traveled all the way to Long Island Sound. Appearengly, Jason and Hazel needed to warn the Greeks. Clin still couldn't believe all of this. Yesterday, he'd been attending a lecture on Roman Architecture and on Modern Roman Physics (M.R.P). Today, he was banished from his home in camp, maye forever, and he only had one pair of glasses with him. The gods didn't even give them time to pack. He put his hand in his pocket, feeling his miniture trident luck-charm. Neptune's gift had appeared under his pillow at his first week of camp, and would transform into a full sized imperial gold trident. It was the only thing that linked him to his dad. If what Jupiter had said was true, his father didn't want anything to do with him at all. They reached the camp borders, where a creepy looking dragon was coiled around a tree from which hung a glimmering golden fleece. Immediately next to it stood a centuar, which freaked Colin out, who'd read how they went berserk, killing Demigods. But maybe things were different here in the Greek side. "Welcome, children of Rome. We have much to speak of." the half-horse said grimly. The Team Assembled By the time Percy reached Camp Halfblood's war room, he knew he was late. An Iris message from Chiron had told him to come here, as fast as possible. He'd managed to get hold of Blackjack, his faithful Pegasus, and get there. Chiron looked worried, and he knew something was up. And that something was probably not good. As he looked inside the room, eight other demigods were assembled around the ping-pong table (Greek tradition). He recognized Jason, Hazel, Thalia. There were others, of course. A thin scrawny kid with blue eyes and brown hair, two similiar guys wearing roman armor, a really ''thin kid with black hair cut Justin Beiber style, and a tall dude with black hair and a bandana covering his face. Other then them, there were others. Chiron for one, looking strangely withdrawn, his face troubled. Next to him sat Rachel, their resident oracle, her red hair cut short. She smiled at Percy, but she too seemed distant. Tyson, Percy's half-brother grinned when he saw him, though thankfully didn't charge him in the cramped space. "Ok, I'm sorry I'm late- the air traffic was really horrible..." "Sit down Percy." Said Chiron, rousing himself. Percy sat down between Jason and the brown haired guy. "Many of you know," Begun Chiron, "What has taken place on Olympus. Many of you do not." Percy looked at Jason. He avoided his gaze. "Jason Grace. Rise, and tell those assembled of the Olympian's decision." Hazel looked at Jason worryingly as he stood up. Percy wondered what was up. As Jason related the events that had taken place in New Rome, Percy felt growing denial. His father had visited him at his birthday. He'd let him live when his brothers wanted to kill him. Once, he'd said Percy was his favourite son. And now, he was agreeing to exile them to save his own skin? That was not Pseidon speaking... Or was it? Percy had always thought well of his dad. But right now he wondered. His father was the source of Earthquakes. He had, in his tantrums, killed hundreds. But Percy had never seen that evil inside him, had he? Or perhaps he had never wanted to. As Jason sat down, Rachel stood up. "As you have heard, the Olympians have exiled all of you from both camps." As she said it, she looked at Percy as if asking for help. "Zeus and Apollo have given me the liberty of providing you with a prophecy." Her eys glowed green, and Chiron steadied her, settling her into her chair. As she opened her mouth, Percy had a terrifying vision of May Castellan, his former enemy Luke's mother, no doubt still waiting for her son with burnt cookies and expired jam. ''"Nine of the strongest Demigods, Shall face tremendous odds, The piece on the board shalt be set on earth, The demon shalt cry in mirth, And light will be in their heart, Until their very souls depart" Preperations Ben was totally not ''liking this. He strapped on his bronze armor, grumbling. This was stupid. He wasn't a fighter, was he? He was just good with his abilities, not with swords and pikes. But no, he had to wear this darned armor. Weighed down by the heavy breastplate, he stumbled over to his stuff. Grabbing his mystical staff, he willed it to dissapear. Then, hoisting the rest of his stuff on his shoulder, he trudged out of the Zues Cabin, which locked itself as he left. He walked over to the canoe lake. The others were already there. Percy Jackson, the so-called hero of camp stood with Chiron, talking. The romans stood near the canoe lake, discussing something. Ben wondered if they were going to betray the Greeks. He didn't trust Romans. One of the hunters of Artemis, Thalia, his half sister stood next to her Roman brother, Jason. He stood alone for a momment before giving his stuff to Argus, the many-eyed security guy. He wondered for a momment why his father wanted to get rid of him. Sure, Ben had never been a big fan of a father who never showed his face to his kids. But this? Why would Zeus abandon his blue-eyed kids, Thalia and Jason? He snapped out of it. He shuffled over to the tall guy with the black hair and bandana. The dude was tall and well musceled. His eyes had grey bags below them. "So... who are you?" Ben asked taking in the black sword strapped to his waist. The guy looked at him and said in a husky voice. "Nico di Angelo. Why?" Ben backed off. "Nico di Angelo? ''The ''Nico di Angelo? You should be dead!" Nico looked at him evenly. "And you should be a raving lunatic with horns, am I right?" Ben's mouth opened in astonishment. "How... how did you...?" No body but him knew his secret so how did di Angelo...? "LISTEN UP!!!" He heard some one yell. It seemed to be Hedge, one of the more eccentric Satyrs. Jason slapped his hand on his face and muttered something. Percy and the dark skinned Roman woman fought to hold laughs. "WE LEAVE IN TWENTY MINUTES!!" He continued to yell. "I'm sure we can all hear you, Hedge." This was a wincing Chiron. From the canoe lake, a naiyad rose and threw a small pebble at the satyr. It met it's mark and the old goat took out his baseball bat, charging at the lake with a yell of "DIE!!". After they managed to calm him down, a few other demigods came to wish them good luck. As the sky rumbeled, the exiled demigods took their cue. Walking to the van prepared by Argus, they all managed to scrunch up inside, which was more spacious than it looked from outside. Ben suspected enlargening enchantments. As the van took off, he looked one last look at the pine tree that had marked the outermost limit of his life for years. Though he would never admit it, he'd miss Camp Halfblood. Bye-bye, Safety Nico knew they were in for a rough ride. Still, he hadn't expected hoards and hoards of monsters. He hadn't expected strange ghoulish appartions that seemed to keep pace with the van. He ''certainly ''hadn't expected the van to be demolished barely ten miles from Camp. But it was a part of being a Demigod. In a way, he'd been thankful for the ruckus. Atleast it saved him from being identified by Percy and the others. Three years ago, he'd died. Finally been at peace, finally re-united with his Mother. They'd made up for lost time. He'd never been so happy. But father HAD to mess it up. Appearently, he and the other Olympians, in view of his support of Olympus, offered Immortality. He'd have refused. Hell, he'd ''wanted ''to refuse. But his mother had pressured him. ''Go, ''bien-aimé. ''After all, your father shall take good care of me. And so, reluctantly, he had accepted. Now he was Monos, the Lonely One. He hadn't been able to watch his friends become outcasts, for he too was one of them. Even now. The others knew him as Monos the demigod, except that scrawny kid, the one with the secret. The secret only he had thought to know. The boy was lonely, and Nico was close to all those alone. In his mind, he still thought of himself as Nico. He was no doubt immortal now. But he would forever be Nico, even if he might have to wear the mask of Monos. Now he looked at the impeding monsters, admitting that the numbers were daunting. He un-sheathed his sword, as Percy drew Riptide, and Jason willed his shiny new sword, Procellum, to spit sparks. Then the monsters were onto them. Nico was a god. He felt no fatigue, and he didn't sweat. Still it took all his strength to smash his way through the line of monsters with horse-heads. They brandished long spears and swords, and snarled incoherrently. Next to him, Percy smiled carnivorously. "I have a deal to settle with you, horse-heads!" Nico had no idea what Percy meant, but he sure was glad he wasn't a monster with a horse head. Several wispy appartions charged him, and he slashed his blade, the black metal melting through them. They wailed and vanished, immediately replaced by other creatures. Nico watched as Hazel and her two twin siblings scattered a herd of what looked like demonic cattle. Several eagle like monsters soared above, spitting fire. The son of Posiedon, the kid Colin, took one down by throwing his Trident like a harpoon. Slowly, but surely, the monsters pulled back. Ben had his staff in his hand, and sent a thunderbolt towards the retreating monster army. Yelping (and howling, yapping and squealing) the army ran off. "Well," said Percy, leaning on Riptide, "That was fun." Nico looked at the horizon. "We'll have more of it before too long." The Hunt Thalia retrieved an arrow from the dirt, replacing it in her quiver. She remembered her brief bout of panic mere minutes earlier. The flock of Hell-birds had descended on her, and plucked her away from earth. She had shot arrow after arrow in panic, blindly, seeing the ground shrink bellow her. It was only when Jason, looking for all the world like a blonde-super man, had carried her down that she'd managed to regain her composure. She looked at Percy who was looking at her with concern. "I'm fine," She muttered. He looked away innocently. The Roman, Colin, walked up to her, giving her one of the arrows. "Um... This is yours... I guess?" he stammered. "Yeah, thanks." she said, snatching the arrow from his grasp. Percy was announcing something now. "I vote we stay as much out of cities as possible. No need of endangering Mortals." Eveyone nodded agreement, except for Ben. "But, their scent would mask ours! We could stay more or less camophlaged between them. hy not just wander through the crowds like mortals?" he protested. Percy looked at him with a stormy expression that made Thalia smile. He was copying Annabeth's angry face. "And you propose to take the risk of having more lives on our hands? There's no proof that the monsters can't spot us in the city. We are the children of the Big Three! Our scent can be detected for miles! You'd like to let Mortals die for some yellow-backed hunch of yours?" The guy in black, strangely familiar, spoke up. "Percy's right. And you will agree." There was a hint of threat in his voice, causing Ben to widen his eyes and nod. Interesting, she thought. "Maybe we should split up." She suggested. But it was Jason who replied. "No," he said, shaking his head, "We'd still be followed, and we'd be much weaker. One big group is better." "Guys!" This was Hazel, "I can sense more monsters coming." "How?" asked one of the two Pluto twins. "They're shaking the earth. Percy, there are too many of them." He grunted. "Fine. We give em' a race then." He looked at Jason, who smiled. "We do ''have a head start." Ben was back in his arguing teen self. "Why run? They'll catch up. We should-" "''You should shut up." Said Colin. Thalia's respect for him slightly increased. Ben wasn't impressed though. "Who are you to tell me, you filthy R-" The next second, Percy had the kid a foot in the air, hand around his neck. "Quiet, you little prat. I don't care who you are. I will smash you to pulp if you spout any more trash. Got it?" The kid nodded awkwardly. Percy smiled coldly, and let him drop. "Hazel, get Arion. Jason, get Stormy. i'll get Blackjack." "It's Tempest, actually." said Jason. The next minute, they were surrounded by three steeds, one with wings, one with electric hooves, and one with a golden nugget in it's mouth, all of three eyeing the others balefully. By the time they'd managed to travel a little faster, in groups, they were on a stretch of a forest. "We go inside?" Asked Hazel, eyeing the dark trees. "No," Decided Thalia, "The monsters will be at home in there. Why not give em' a surprise?" "What surprise?" said Percy, face puckered in puzzlement. "We make our stand here." "Say what?" his was a surprised Jason. "Why here?" "The monster's won't know we are here. They'll assume we went in the woods." "Won't work," said one of the twins bluntly, "They can smell us." Thalia frowned. "We will be partially in the woods. We just won't travel through them." "Explain." said a perplexed Percy, "Please." "They try to follow. They get caught in our traps. Then we rush out and finish them off." "What traps?" asked Colin, with genuine interest. She smiled. "The ones I'm about to set, of course." The First Battle of the Forest The sun was already kissing the horizon when Hazel reported that the monsters were comming closer. Percy and the others stood, taut with tension as Hazel reported their haste. The nine were within the trees, but not too deep in the forest. If Thalia's plan worked, they might just survive. Or their famous demigod luck could kick in and doom them. Percy looked at Riptide, remembering that day, years ago, when Chiron had first given it to him, while posing as Mr. Brunner. The cry of "What ho, Percy!" echoed in his mind. The line of traps planted by Thalia were well disguised, so well that Percy wondered whether they were there or not. He looked at Jason, who flashed a tense grin. Colin, next to him, had his Trident out, and was trying to swallow. Percy felt for the kid. Havel stepped next to him, fidgeting with her sword. "They're nearly here." She said, voice quivering. By now, even he could feal the earth shake and grumble. The monsters must have a lot of Monster Donuts with them, he thought. And suddenly, there the monsters were. Percy had an unwelcome reminder of Kronos grinning, flanked by his millions of monsters. This army wouldn't have been amiss back at the Siege of Manhattan. "For Rome! ...And, er, Greece!" Yelled Jason, haltingly, and then the monsters were stumbling over eachother to get the first tasty demigod bite. The first trap exploded. Greek Fire arced out of the ruptured ground, devouring a column of Dracanea. An unlucky rhino-like monster got a little too close and got incinerated along with them. Nearly at the same time, more traps were triggered. One of the fire-breathing eagle things stubbed it's wingtip on a branch that suddenly burst into razor sharp shards; a Horse-head stepped on an innocent looking patch of earth that immediatle rose up to devour it and it's comrades. Percy looked at a grinning Thalia. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." The traps continued to lessen the monster army. In addition, young Ben was sending bolt after bolt of electricity at the survivors. The kid might have been a total spineless snot-ball, but he sure had skills. The son of Poseidon, Colin, was busy using his trident to spray the enemy with blue laser beams that seemed to come straight out of Star Wars. Thalia let arrow after arrow fly after the panicking creatures. The guy in black, Monos, alone stood aside from the battle, sharpening his sword. Percy remembered that sword. It was Nico's. No, he thought, that can't be his. It's gotta be standard equipment for the Junior Hades Scouts. A few monsters were trying to get into the forrest now. Realizing this, Percy yelled, "Their trying to get in! Take the fight to them!" The others nodded and they charged the starteled monsters. With a flick of his blade, Percy sent a Horse head flying, it's humanoid torso folding. A goup dracanea came forward, and Percy fought them off, hurling Riptide in deadly arc after deadly arc. He saw Jason flying over the fray, wrestling with one of the huge eagles. Thalia was out of arrows, and hacked at her enemies with her knives. Hazel lead the twins, the three killing monster after monster. Percy let instinct take over. He remembered a time, so long ago, when he had fought Kronos' army. He sent monsters sprawling, dracanea wailing and giant eagles screeching. He felt alive. He yelled like a savage, beheading a dracanea, deflecting it's dying strike, and rolled uder it's ally's spear, flicking his sword below it's arm. He head-butted a surprised wraith like being, and chopped it's arm off, watching it dissolve. Finally, seemingly after an eternity, the monsters retreated. The Second Battle of the Forrest Jason wiped Procellum on a tree, trying to dislodge the monster grime. He still remembered, how Jupiter himself had sent the sword to him, when it had slammed from the sky in the middle of the Arena, just as the Drakkon had risen. He'd seen Piper in danger, and drawing his sword, without thought, charged the demonic creature. Reyna... he couldn't get her pale, lifeless face out of his head. True, she had almost killed Piper. But Jason wasn't one to take satisfaction from death. The monsters seemed to be regrouping. This battle would be tougher. They didn't have surprise on their side, nor Thalia's traps. His sister had wrecked them before, but couldn't do it again. Percy walked up to him, chest heaving. "That... was something." Jason nodded tiredly. "Yeah, and they're still up for a fight." Percy grinned. "Let's see if they're ready for a good whupping." Hazel walked up to them. "You should hear this. I have a surprise in store for those monsters." Jason arced an eyebrow. "I thought we were all out of surprises." "We have two, actually." she smiled, and Jason's spirits lifted. "What surprises?" asked Percy, face lit up in hope. "One, I've found a tunnel near their position. They move forward, I open it, and they fall inside, before it fills up with rubble. Many will survive, though." "And the second?" "There's a lake not far from here." Percy grinned widely. "Now we're talking. I could sense the water, but I thought it was in the ground." Jason mirrored Percy's smile. "Now those monsters are in for more nasty shocks." Jason and Coling should shoulder to shoulder. Colin was still sweating hard from his first live battle, and Jason noted panic in the kid's eyes. He needed to calm down. "So... Colin. You had any friends back in camp?" He asked, carefully keeping the tension from his voice. "N- not many." he stammered. "A girlfriend?" He turned red. "No." "You can tell me." "I said no. I had no girlfriend called Jane." "I never mentioned 'Jane'." "You didn't...? Oh gods no..." "So... how was she?" "Gah! Get off my back! What do you want with my girlfriend, any ways?" Jason shrugged innocently. "Nothing." He noticed that Colin had noticably loosened up, and the panic had subsided. He suddenly heard the monsters roar, and Colin moaned. As they begun their charge, Hazel's tunnel collapsed. The demigods cheered as the monster stumbeled and fell into the gap. It wouldn't last long, though. More monsters continued to charge. "Attack!" Yelled Jason, and they met the monster army. Jason let the hours of training take over him. He parried a clumsy spear stroke, and responed with a counter attack. Looking above, he noticed the last firebreathing eagle torch up trees. Willing the air to lift him up, he flew over to the bird, his sword Procellum carving wounds in it's vulnerable stomach. The brid crashed, killing a couple of red skinned bulls with huge canines and horns. Flying down, he lopped the head off of a snake woman, ducking as an arrow whipped past his head, skewering a horse headed monster. Looking back, he saw Thalia sending her newly recovered arrows whizzing into the monster lines. His hair stood on end and he swiped his blade instinctively, killing his would-be assassin, a monster with two snapping rat- heads who had been sneaking up on him. He remembered a time when he had battled the forces of Saturn. The monsters had been just as consistant, and powerful. But as he had then triumphed, so he would today win. In a blur of black, Monos was beside him, surrounded by undead wearing the attire of U.S Marines and some wearing the armour of the Middle Ages. It was strange, he thought, how the man reminded Jason of Nico di Angelo. But it couldn’t be him. Nico was dead. Jason had been at the funeral. His reverie was broken as a tide of water soared over his head, smashing into the monsters, and throwing them back as if they’d been smacked by a humungous club. Percy came into view, looking bone-tired, his sword haning limply at his side. Catching Jason’s gaze he gave a small smile. “Looks like I did your work for you, Sky Boy.” Jason smiled in reply. “Don’t bet on it, Jackson.” Standing side by side, the two watched as the monsters ran away, or got swept away, for good. Umbra Ali set down his sword. Javed mirrored his brother. The two stood close, in the trees. The kid, Colin, was apparently aiding Thalia with the healing of the injured. Percy Jackson had collapsed soon after the battle, exhausted. He had not seen combat for a while, and his lack of training was taking it's toll. Still, he had turned the tide of the battle. Literally, with his monster washing tidal wave. "We had a close run, Javed." said Ali. Javed snorted. "It was a matter of time. I am only thankful it happened sooner than later." "Yes, but now what? The attack may have shielded us from unpleasant suspiciouns, but Father's will is still to be carried." "Perhaps. Father has not been open to us. His Ammanat ''remains with us." Spoke Javed using the Arabic word for an entrusted item, that requires honest safekeeping. "It is an unwelcome thing, brother. The Shade is malicious." "Umbra. Show yourself." Intoned Javed. A humanoid apparition appeared. It looked like a 3D shadow. "What doth thou wish to ask, ''mors puer?" It spoke, in a dark, heavy voice. Ali looked at the shadow with a scowl. "His name is Javed. I am Ali. Who is Mos Peor?" "Mors' Puer ''means Child of Death." Spoke Javed. "I once more ask thee- what is thy question?" "What are you? Why has father sent you to us?" "I am a shade. I am the servant of Lord Pluto and Master Thanatos. I am Darkness. I am What is Not." "Why... why are you with us?" Demanded Ali, waveringly. "That I know not. Ask thy father." "I would... if I could." Ali said bitterly. "Ali? Javed? You two there?" Came the voice of Hazel. "Begone, Umbra!" Whispered Javed fiercely. The Shadow dissapeared as soon as Hazel found them "Here you are. Come on, we're setting camp." They nodded, exchanging a look behind her back. Their father had a lot to answer for. The Head Hunters '''Authors Note: By popular demand, I'm introducing new characters here. If you have some constructive advice, please leave it on my talk page, or contact me when I'm on chat. Thanks. Zack polished his katana, making it's already perfect blade shimmer. He'd already polished it five times since morning. He simply wanted something to do. Because he was nervous. Because he, leader of the Elite Headhunters, was afraid. Like a kitten. He grunted as he once more wore his katana. The weapon had a solid assurance to it that relaxed him. The son of Apollo looked around the campfire. He knew, some where inside these woods, there was another camp, another camp fire. The most powerful demigods he'd ever seen hid here.He'd seen the state of the monsters that had fled from the battle. He wasn't anxious to meet these Half-bloods, any more than he was anxious to listen to his dad's haikus. But meet them he must. Defeat them, he must, as well. His second in command, Alan, echoed his thoughts. "How the bloody hell do we beat those guys?" Zack irritatedly shook his head. "I don't know. But we'll ''have ''to beat them. Because we are supposed to be the strongest solo demigods. This is our turf. I don't want our name to slip up." "You're willing to risk our lives for street rep?" Asked Alan, obnoxiously twirling his lip. Zack glowered at him. "Shut up, Al. We need a strategy." "I'll provide one", offered Kate, daughter of Athena. "What?" "They're probably relaxing. They won't know we're sneaking up on them. When they go to sleep, you lead some of the guys to decapicate the sentries, quietly. Then the rest of us sneak in and do whats to be done with the sleepers." Zack nodded. Reasonably well. But not quite good. "We're hoping for quite a lot here. One- their sentries would be bored and ineffectual. Two- we won't make a noise. Three- the people sleeping won't wake up." Kate pursed her lips. "So... what do we do?" Alan snorted. "Why not go for an all out assualt? They'll be tired. They'll be weak." "They might. Then again, they might have healed." "Just like you to be a coward, Long." growled Alan, baring his teeth. Zack's hands turned into fists, knuckles white. The rest of the Headhunters kept eating, obviously used to the sparring, both verbal and physical. "Shut up, Alan." he growled through gritted teeth. "Make me." said Alan, before swinging a fist at Zack. Zack ducked, dodging Alan's fist, before rising with an uppercut. Alan stumbeled back with a grunt, but Zack wasn't done with him. He executed a chop at his opponents shoulder, following with a kick in the groin. As the big boy fell, Zack was on top of him. "Never. Call. Me. A coward. Again." he whispered. Getting up, he looked at the amused faces of the Headhunters. "What're you lot looking at? Go and get ready for the raid!" Kate looked as Alan dragged himself away. "That might not have been a smart move, Zack." "I don't care." "And what's our new strategy for the raid?" "We'll make it up as we go." Raid Alan, son of Ares, rubbed his sour jaw as he awaited the signal. That punch by Zack had taken him by surprise. He had to admit that the son of Apollo hit really hard. Alan didn't hate Zack. The fact that Zack had fought off Alan was only an indication for him that Zack Long was a solid dependable person. A man's personality is imprisonned in his fist. Sure, he'd keep provoking Zack, till the momment Alan could see that Zack was going weak. Then Zack would be dead meat. The guy behind him, Yuri Kochenko, tapped him on the arm. They'd recieved affirmative. He slipped past the boulder, crouching beneath a rotten log. He waited for a momment, alert, and unpleasently aware of the wetness piercing his leather and bronze armour. He scrabbled past it, with stealth unlikely for one of his size. Looking behind a tree, he motioned for the others to follow. Their weapons, dulled so as not to catch light and reveal their position, were drawn. His sword in one hand, his Death Blade strapped to his other arm, he waited in the shadows. He saw dark shapes approaching, and tensed, relaxing as sson as he recognized Kate and Zack. "Their beyond that ridge," whispered Zack. Alan nodded, looking at Kate. "So, what now?" He asked her. "Surround them. Take out any sentries you see." "Got it. Yuri, follow me." The pale Russian nodded, covering his face with his shawl. They encountered their first sentry ten minutes later. A tall, pale man, black sword drawn. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be asleep on his feet. Grinning wolfishly, Alan leapt from his cover, hacking at the figure with his Death Blade. Things got wrong almost immediately. The man's sword rose in a dark blur, deflecting his strike and catching him off-balance. As he stumbeled, he heard his party attack the solitary figure. Then silence. When he was up again, Yuri and the others were strewn on the ground, unconcious. The figure was nowhere to be seen. "Goodbye, kid." someone rasped in his ear. He slashed back, but once more that black blur intercepted his attack. He again stabbed with his sword, at the same time slashing with his Death Blade. Some how, the man dodged both attacks. Grunting in anger and a hint of fear, prespiration dripping from his body, he attacked again and again, narrowly escaping his mystreious opponent's nearly flawless attacks. Finally, with the twist of his dark blade, the figure robbed him of his sword. Now armed only with his Death Blade, he tried to stay light on his feet, counter attacking and dodging. The man seemed untroubled, almost serene, his eyes above the bandana deadly bright. He stabbed, dodged, thrust, punching and kicking, but in vain. The man was every where. After parrying a particularly strong stab, the man rammed his fist into Alan's face. Seeing stars, he stumbeled back, before his feet were yanked from under him. The last this he saw was the man shaking his pale head, as if amused. Credits *Thanks to Heromachine ALPHA, a free character creator, that allows you to make your own, very professional looking character. *Also, thanks to my cousin, who goes by LordArgoz, writer of Lost Raider, for showing me the joys of writing, and for revealing this Wiki to me. Thanks, dude. *I'd like to remind everyone that credit for Percy Jackson and all other characters, locations and themes found in Rick Riordan's novels belong to him. I have simply borrowed them for a work of Fan-fiction. *Credit to the author of The Jackson Legacy for the inspiration. Thanks. *And finally, thanks to the Percy Jackson fan-fic wikia community, and all those who bothered to read my story. I really appreciate it. Category:Index Page Category:Fan Fiction Category:Giantgnat